Übungstext 2 - Englisch
Welcome in Vienna. Today we want to tell you something of this famous city. Vienna is the capital and largest city of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. It is one of the largest cities by population in the European Union. Vienna is host to many major international organizations, including the United Nations and OPEC. The city is located in the eastern part of Austria and is close to the borders of the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. These regions work together in a European Centrope border region. Apart from being regarded as the City of Music because of its musical legacy. Vienna is located in northeastern Austria, at the easternmost extension of the Alps in the Vienna Basin. The earliest settlement, at the location of today’s inner city, was south of the meandering Danube while the city now spans both sides of the river. Vienna is composed of 23 districts (Bezirke). Vienna is one of the wealthiest regions in the European Union. Art and culture had a long tradition in Vienna, including theatre, opera, classical music and fine arts. The Burgtheater is considered one of the best theatres in the German-speaking world alongside its branch, the Akademietheater. The Volkstheater and the Theater in der Josefstadt also enjoy good reputations. There is also a multitude of smaller theatres, in many cases devoted to less mainstream forms of the performing arts, such as modern, experimental plays or cabaret. Vienna is also home to a number of opera houses. Classical concerts are performed at world-famous venues such as the Wiener Musikverein, home of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra known across the world for the annual widely broadcast “New Year’s Day Concert!”. The Hofburg is the location of the Imperial Treasury, holding the imperial jewels of the Habsburg dynasty. The Sisi Museum allows visitors to view the imperial apartments as well as the silver cabinet. Directly opposite the Hofburg are the Kunsthistorisches Museum, which houses many paintings by old masters, ancient and classical artifacts, and the Naturhistorisches Museum. A number of museums are located in the museum quarter. There are a multitude of other museums in Vienna, including the Albertina, the Military History Museum, the Technical Museum, the Sigmund Freud Museum and the Mozarthaus Vienna. A variety of architectural styles can be found in Vienna, such as the Romanesque Ruprechtskirche and the Baroque Karlskirche. Styles range from classicist buildings to modern architecture. The House of Hundertwasser, designed to counter the clinical look of modern architecture, is one of Vienna’s most popular tourist attractions. The 220-meter high DC Tower 1 located on the Northern bank of the Danube, completet in 2013, is the tallest skyscraper in Vienna. Vienna is also the last great capitol of the 19th-century ball. There are many balls per year, some featuring as many as nine live orchestras. Balls are held in the many beautiful palaces in Vienna, with the principal venue being the Hofburg Palace. While the Opera Ball is the best known internationally of all the Austrian balls. A Vienna ball is an all-night cultural attraction. Major Viennese balls generally begin at 9 pm and last until 5 am, although many guests carry on the celebrations into the next day. Vienna possesses many parks, inlcuding the Stadtpark, Burggarten, Volksgarten (part of the Hofburg) and the Prater. Vienna is also well known for Wiener Schnitzel, a cutlet of veal or pork that is pounded flat, coated in flour, egg and breadcrumbs, and fried in clarified butter. It is available in almost every restaurant that serves Viennese cuisine and can be eaten hot or cold. The traditional Wiener Schnitzel though is a cutlet of veal. Other examples of Viennese cuisine include Tafelspitz (very lean boiled beef), which is traditionally served with boiled potatoes mashed with a fork and subsequently fried. Vienna has a long tradition of producing cakes and desserts. These include hot apple strudel, milk-cream strudel, sweet pancakes and dumplings often filled with fruit such as apricots. Sachertorte, a delicately moist chocolate cake with apricot jam created by the Sacher Hotel, is world-famous. In winter, small street stands sell traditional Maroni (hot chestnuts) and potato fritters. The Naschmarkt is a permanent market for fruit, vegetables, spices, fish, meat etc., from around the world. The city has many coffee and breakfast stores. Viennes cafés have an extremely long and distinguished history that dates back centuries, and the caffeine addictions of some famous historical patrons of the oldest are something of a local legend. These coffee houses are unique to Vienna and many cities have unsuccessfully sought to copy them. Some people consider cafés as their extrended living room where nobody will be bothered if they spend hours reading a newspaper while enjoying their coffee. Traditionally, the coffee comes with a glass of water. Viennese cafés claim to have invented the process of filtering coffee from booty captured after the second Turkish siege. Viennese cafés claim that when the invading Turks left Vienna, they abandoned hundreds of sacks of coffee beans. Major tourist attractions include the imperial palaces of the Hofburg and Schönbrunn (also home of the world’s oldest zoo) and the Riesenrad in the Prater. Cultural highlights include the Burgtheater, Wiener Staatsoper, the Spanische Hofreitschule and the Vienna Boys Choir. There are many popular sites associated with composers who lived in Vienna including Beethovens various residences and grave at Central Cemetery which is the largest cemetery in Vienna and the burial site of many famous people. Mozart has a memorial grave at the Habsburg gardens and at St. Marx cemetery, where his grave was lost. Vienna has an extensive transportation network with a unified fare system that integrates municipal, regional and railway systems under the umbrella of the VOR. Public transport is provided by buses, trams and underground metro lines. There are also many S-train stations within the city limits. Trains are operated by the ÖBB. The city forms the hub of the Austrian railway system, with serviced to all parts of the country and abroad. Vienna is served by Vienna International Airport, located 18 km southeast of the city centre next to the town of Schwechat. Now we wish you a lot of fun in Vienna. Enjoy this city.